[stickman]

Hi, I've been wood burning some and have been using carbon paper to trace my pattern onto my stick .And it works great except that its very dark .And after I burn the pattern on the stick there is a lot of blue left over from the carbon paper.

so I then sand it until its gone.but after sanding I have to go over the whole thing again .

Is there any way to get around this?

also it seems to dirty up the point pretty fast so I then just rub it with a bit of sand paper.


any thought would be helpful Mike

[mdallensr]

Graphite paper is better; it's erasable and available at most craft stores. You can also iron-on your pattern if you make a copy on a regular copy machine or laser printer (one that uses toner; not an inkjet printer). I like the iron-on technique for complex patterns, such as chip carving. If your pattern isn't symmetrical, you'll have to make a "negative" or reverse image and some copiers do that. Otherwise, you can make a transparency, then reverse it.
For simple patterns that I'm going to do more than once (or share with my fellow carvers), I make a cardboard template to trace the pattern. Mike

[Mottles]

Like Mike, I too use graphite paper and agree too it's erasable. I don't use carbon paper because the ink might (I say might) be toxic when burned and like Mike said you can't erase it very easily.
Kathy

[stickman]

Thanks, Mike& Kathy for the tips they sound much eaiser and safer . Mike

[Donna_T]

Hey Stickman,
If I'm doing a relief carving, I photocopy the pattern, then iron it on the wood. If you want to reverse the pattern, and your copier will reverse, it's a breeze. If not, I photocopy it onto a transparency sheet, then I can flip it over to get a reverse pattern.

The wood needs to be sanded smooth, then I tape the corners of the photocopy down with the ink side facing the wood. Then I take my iron, set it on hot, and iron the back of the photocopy--keep the iron moving--until the pattern is transferred. There is even a little "hot tool" that will do this but my good ole clothes iron works well. It's a lot quicker and more accurate than tracing.

But, if tracing, I use graphite paper. I've got it in black, red, blue and use whichever one shows up the best on the wood. Carbon paper has an oily base and that's why it stains your wood.

Donna T

[Irish]

I have always used a soft, #3 or #4, pencil to rub the back of the pattern paper. This makes the pattern into it's own carbon.

The pencil marks transfer well without excess pressure and are easily erased and adjusted.

Anytime you burn over something you set it permanently into the wood - carbon paper, graphite, or pencil. So I want a usable tracing but one that is soft enough in color tone not to stand out when I do burn over it.

Susan

[Pyrographer]

graphite transfer paper is best for transferring a pattern. It is basically like using a pencil, which is used in the lead in many pencils. Yes, once burned into the wood it is a bit more difficult to remove but I have an electric and battery operated eraser that removes it easily.

Using a heat method of transferring a pattern that has been printed from a copier or printer is not a safe method for burning as it can pose health hazards. It should be perfectly fine if used for carving but I do not recommend it for burning. The same holds true for carbon paper which is paraffin wax-based. It is a petroleum based product and could pose similar problems when used in conjunction with burning, not to mention that the pattern lines cannot be removed.

So, either graphite transfer paper or the method Susan uses provide similar results and are certainly safer when combined with woodburning.

Nedra

[stickman]

thanks to all very helpfull info I learned a lot. mike

[Eddy Smiles]

I'm with Irish except I have a slight modification in that instead of using an "F" or "B" graphite pencil I often use a "French Gray" watercolor pencil. It leaves a much lighter image and if you aren't satisfied with the image left you can always go back with a regular graphite pencil and highlight, enhance or change the image. In addition, after you're done burning the wood you can rinse it off to remove any excess charing and at the same time the watercolor penciling will wash off.

[stickman]

Just tried the graphite pencil trick and it worked very nicely thanks again MIKE